President Barack Obama on Tuesday delivered a passionate call for Congress to give his plan to close the Guantánamo Bay military prison a “fair hearing,” casting the terrorist detention center as a hindrance to national security.

“I don’t want to pass this on to the next president,” he said, flanked by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter. “I am absolutely committed to closing the detention facility at Guantánamo.”